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Welcome, I'm over here in brevard county. I definitely recommend getting the ceramic tint for heat rejection in Florida, you will be cooking the battery in parking lots in July without it. I installed formula one tint on mine, definitely helps.

As Mark mentioned, it was his post that nudged me to look around, then I was hooked.

I have been told a few times by Stringray if I get a referral, they would take care of me, like a dinner out or something, but I always decline the offer. I'm probably in the minority but when I make recommendations, in anything, I only feel its morally neutral if I have nothing to gain from the transaction.

Stingray is one of the best dealers I have used in my entire life of buying cars, and they are solidly behind the Volt and making great deals. If someone buys a Volt, that's enough for me to know the cause for electrification and the person have benefited.

DonC: Thanks! I don't know how much more it can grow on me, though. I'm already the workplace EV promoter. I was so excited to realize that I could actually get a reasonable deal on one that I haven't come down a week later! (Nor have I gotten much sleep after spending even more time reading on these forums). It is still surreal driving to work on electrons.

flmark: Thanks Grandpa, haha! I just sent him a PM, so hopefully it'll work out for him. I'm glad for the chain of recommendations on Stingray -- I didn't know you could even get below MSRP because I hadn't kept up with selling prices since back when it first came out. That plus the 0% APR is what sealed the deal (plus a good price on trade and low dealer fees). So thanks for your part in helping me get my electric wonder!

saghost: I will definitely look into it some more. I guess everybody has gotten pretty comfortable with it to be willing to sign up. A family member has actually already hooked into the CAN bus to read some raw data out of the ODB ports; he plans to get me into a research program he works on to track data on my usage, so I may still be contributing data to the EV community in either case... We'll see how it works out.

Flemingljr: Thanks for the welcome! I will probably see you on the road in Brevard. What color is your Volt? My tinting installation is scheduled for tomorrow, and I will be getting the Llumar brand. I think it is metallic rather than ceramic, but I will ask about it when I go; I believe several options will be available within that branding. Llumar has worked well on my wife's car for many Florida years so far.

Welcome, I'm over here in brevard county. I definitely recommend getting the ceramic tint for heat rejection in Florida, you will be cooking the battery in parking lots in July without it. I installed formula one tint on mine, definitely helps.

Actually, the battery is in its own shiny insulated enclosure entirely separate from the body shell, and could care less about cabin air temps. That isn't to say I recommend not getting the tint - for your own comfort, and for the savings in energy not having to push the A/C as much/hard it can be invaluable.

Welcome aboard from another new Volt owner (3/31). Your love for the Volt will only grow. I'm a log time Corvette owner and I have never been more enthused and satisfied with a car. I've owned BMW's, Jaguars and 7 Corvette's.

This car amazes me every time I press the start button and silently glide through traffic. Then I notice all the attention this car generates and you soon come to relize how special this car is and the visceral reaction it garners.

The American public gets it and I so glad you have joined the growing army of Volt owners and game changers.

BAZINGA! Thanks, Tom. I really am amazed at the reaction to the car... I think it is equal parts curiosity and amazement (with a dash of ridicule depending on what they thought they knew about the car beforehand -- but I showed those few the light).

I like the idea of this vanguard of Volt owners, and other early EV adopters, as game changers -- we are putting our money where our mouth is and showing others that we really can stop driving all over the place with dino juice one day, and reap all of the multifaceted benefits of such a future. (There I go dreaming again).

I've brought my lifetime mpg up to over 72, much better than the 52 it has when I bought it (test drives must've practically all been on gas). I even created a little sub-group for those in my area called Space Coast Volts. No additional members yet, but I hope the other Volt owners in my area will eventually see it. We need to push for charging stations around here, because there are practically none -- only Leaf/Volt dealer stations.

And like many others here on the forums, I am between a rock and hard place with SPX trying to get a free Coulomb charger, but not willing to pay SPX's $1400+ asking price for installation (I guess most people here went through all this a while ago, because it doesn't garner as much discussion anymore -- I'm thinking of nicknaming myself threadkiller ).

I also made a slight change to my commute which is drastically helping my EV performance -- I used to always get right on the highway for 11 miles, then drive reasonable speed roads the rest of the way. I would leave the highway only 12 miles into my commute, but with over 4 kWh used! I could just barely get to work on battery. But since I can't charge at work yet, I decided to try taking the 5-minute-longer, more direct local roads. Wow, what a difference! I never break 60 mph on this route, and I can get to work with nearly half my battery remaining! In the few days since I started this, my daily mpg has gone from the 80's to the 180's to 200's.

I've brought my lifetime mpg up to over 72, much better than the 52 it has when I bought it (test drives must've practically all been on gas). I even created a little sub-group for those in my area called Space Coast Volts. No additional members yet, but I hope the other Volt owners in my area will eventually see it. We need to push for charging stations around here, because there are practically none -- only Leaf/Volt dealer stations.

And like many others here on the forums, I am between a rock and hard place with SPX trying to get a free Coulomb charger, but not willing to pay SPX's $1400+ asking price for installation (I guess most people here went through all this a while ago, because it doesn't garner as much discussion anymore -- I'm thinking of nicknaming myself threadkiller ).

I also made a slight change to my commute which is drastically helping my EV performance -- I used to always get right on the highway for 11 miles, then drive reasonable speed roads the rest of the way. I would leave the highway only 12 miles into my commute, but with over 4 kWh used! I could just barely get to work on battery. But since I can't charge at work yet, I decided to try taking the 5-minute-longer, more direct local roads. Wow, what a difference! I never break 60 mph on this route, and I can get to work with nearly half my battery remaining! In the few days since I started this, my daily mpg has gone from the 80's to the 180's to 200's.

Keep in mind that the "deal" is for a $500 charger and installation that should normally cost $100-200. Something to keep in mind.

Nice work getting your MPG up, but have you asked about charging at work? Either with your 120V or if they would install one?